This Enormous Green Blob Bubbled Out of a Storm Drain in the US

Residents of Bluffdale, Utah received quite a shock last week when an enormous blob of pale green foam sprung forth, seemingly out of nowhere, from a roadside irrigation gate.

The road was quickly closed off by the city as Salt Lake County Health Department officials were called out investigate. Initially, residents were concerned that the foaming might be the result of some sort of toxic algae. (Not a crazy hypothesis, given that an enormous, shit-fuelled algae bloom is currently underway in nearby Utah Lake.)

But, as health department spokesperson Nicholas Rupp told Gizmodo, a more likely explanation is that this is the result of routine moss cleaning taking place in the Welby Jacobs Canal to which the storm drain is connected.

“At this point, we certainly don’t believe the foam is related to algae,” he said. “All evidence points to it coming from the moss cleaning process, because that process creates foaming.”

Rupp added that the health department took water samples from the Welby Jacobs Canal before the incident, and a final determination is expected shortly. In all likelihood, the foamy mystery will wind up having a rather boring resolution—but man, it sure does look like aliens. [KSL News]